HRG Engineering Company also known as HRG, was a British

car manufacturer This is a list of notable automobile manufacturers with articles on Wikipedia by country. It includes companies that are in business as well as defunct manufacturers. Only companies that have articles here are included. A Algeria * SNVI ...

based in Tolworth,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. Founded in 1936 by

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Edward Halford, Guy Robins and Henry Ronald Godfrey, its name was created from the first letter of their

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

s. Cars were produced under the HRG name from 1935 to 1956.

History

Having raced together at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields ...

, Ron Godfrey approached Major Edward Halford in 1935 as regards the development of a new sports car. Having shown the prototype in late 1935, the company was formed in 1936 with Guy Robins formerly of

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

joining as the third partner. Taking space at the premises of the Mid-Surrey Gear Company in Hampden Road,

Norbiton Norbiton is an area within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It lies approximately east of Kingston upon Thames town centre, and from Charing Cross. Its main landmarks include Kingston Hospital, Kingsmeadow football stadium ...

, the cars were heavily influenced in their design by Godfrey's previous long involvement — from 1909 — with both the GN company and subsequently

Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed t ...

. The first Meadows-engined HRG cost £395, about half the cost of the 1.5-litre

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated wi ...

, and weighed almost 1000 pounds (450 kg) less.

Singer engines and gearboxes

In 1938, the Company announced the 1100cc model ith a shorter wheelbaseusing an OHC engine from Singer's Bantam Nine. and then in 1939 they also started using the OHC 1500cc Singer Twelve later Singer Roadster engine in place of the old OHV Meadows unit. Post-war, the 1100 and 1500 2-seaters continued being made to the same pre-war design. HRG also commenced manufacturing the Aerodynamic model on basically the same vintage chassis. In 1950 Guy Robins left the company and S. R. Proctor joined as technical director, having been associated with Godfrey on the ill-fated

Godfrey-Proctor Godfrey-Proctor, (Godfrey and Proctor), was a British car manufacturer (circa late 1920s-1928) founded by Henry Ronald Godfrey (H.R. Godfrey) and Stuart Proctor at Richmond, Surrey in England. Godfrey left G.N. (Godfrey-Nash) to form H.R. Godfr ...

in the 1920s.Secondhand Car, Profile of 'HRG: A Gentleman's Racer'
/ref> Sports car production ended in 1956 after 241 cars had been made, although the company remained in business as an engineering concern and as a development organisation for others, including

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

. In 1965, they made a prototype Vauxhall VX 4/90-powered sports car. The company ceased trading in 1966, making a

profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

until the end.

Racing

The factory's racing team, Ecurie Lapin Blanc, achieved several notable successes. In the 1938 Le Mans 24-hour race. the works entry driven by Peter Clark and Marcus Chambers was the highest-placed British car (10th out of 15 finishers from 42 starters). The following year Clark and Chambers returned to win the 1.5 litre class. In 1947, Chambers took 3rd place in the

Grand Prix des Frontières The Grand Prix des Frontières was a motor race held at a street circuit in Chimay Chimay (, wa, Chimai) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is ...

at Chimay, and HRG won the team prize in the Isle of Man Empire Trophy race. In 1948 Chambers was 4th at Chimay, and HRG won the team prize in the Spa 24 hour race, where team leader Peter Clark had the cars equipped with two-way radios for communication between the drivers and the pits."1949 HRG Le Mans Lightweight", ''Thoroughbred Cars''
Retrieved on 26 July 2008. Innovative at the time, radio communication is common in racing today. The team prize again went to HRG at Spa the following year. Also in 1949, the 1.5 litre class at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

was won for the second time by an HRG, driven on this occasion by Eric Thompson and Jack Fairman. Proving that HRGs were still competitive 59 years later, a three-car team won the 2006 Vintage Sports Car Club 2-hour team relay race at

Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...

. They raced as "Ecurie Lapin Blanc".

The cars today

Of the 241 cars made, it is estimated that 225 survive. Many of the cars are still in active use, with a few in active competition. Some are competing in

classic trials Classic trials, or colloquially mud plugging, is one of the oldest forms of rallying or off-road motor sports, dating from the beginning of the 20th century. Originally, the challenge was just to complete a long (challenging) road course. All thre ...

, others compete in VSCC races with success. The cars are commonly called "Hurgs" by their owners, and have an owners organisation in the HRG Association.

Factory Models

Gallery

Image:HRG 1500.jpg, ex- Betty Haig H.R.G. 1500 2-Seater Sports Image:HRG 1500 1947.jpg, H.R.G. 1500 2-Seater Sports 1947 Image:HRG 1500 1948.jpg, H.R.G. 1500 2-Seater Sports 1948 Image:HRG 1500 1953.jpg, H.R.G. 1500 2-Seater Sports 1953 Image:Simms Exeter 2004 1954 HRG Volvo.JPG, 1954 non-standard Volvo-engined H.R.G. tackling Simms Hill on the M.C.C. Exeter Trial

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hrg Engineering Company Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Defunct companies based in Surrey